Goodbye 2012!

As I sit here watching the snow fall and reflecting on the past year, I can say for the first time in many years this has been a great year! The last couple of years have been rough, with something major happening that just seemed to tip the balance between it being a good year and a bad year. It has been a very long time since I have been able to reflect on a year and say with out hesitation that I feel blessed more than I probably deserve.

The year didn't start out on the best note, a couple weeks into it I lost my job. But looking back, and I really think at the time I knew it too, it was a HUGE blessing. I was very unhappy there, the position wasn't for me, and while the company as a whole was great to work for, the management I was under was not. On most days as I headed to work I dreaded it, it was effecting my health and I was starting to become depressed due to how unhappy I was. It's amazing how God has a way to get you out of bad situations with what seems at the time to be something terrible but in the end it was the biggest blessing there could be.

For the most part the rest of the year was pretty smooth sailing. By not working I was able to just focus on school and was able to get the best grades I have ever earned since I was in high school. While there definitely were a few classes that tested me on a daily basis, Stats and Decisions Science, I made it through and finished my degree a couple weeks ago. I would love to say that I feel differently but I really don't. Maybe that will change if I ever find a job.

This year has seemed to bring me a ton of blessings, the birth of some pretty adorable little babies that I can't wait to be part of their lives as they grow and develop. A ton of new friends through my church that I honestly couldn't imagine my life with out now. I was able to nurture several friendships and become closer with friends that I have known for ten years. While at times it may have seemed like I was fighting harder than I should have been to keep a couple, I am beyond happy that I did because with out them I wouldn't be who I am or where I am today.

But I think the biggest blessing this year has been my church. I started attending City Life back in August of 2011 and have felt at home since day one. Through volunteering in the nursery, City  Groups and the friends that I have made my faith has grown by leaps and bounds. For the first time in my life I feel strong in my faith and I have been able to give control of my life over to God, something that if you know me if very difficult for me to do... I may be a bit of a control freak. Boy am I glad that I have done so. God has blessed me more than I could have ever imagined this year and I am so thankful that he has done so!

So what does 2013 have in store? I have no clue! I know God has a plan, I know that plan is better than anything I could ever imagine and I know that I will learn what it is when God is ready for me to know it. There are a couple of things I would like to accomplish this year. They aren't resolutions because lets be honest how many people actually keep those? Here are a few:

1) I want to get job. Seems easy enough but in this economy it is not! I'm hoping that I can find a position which will allow me to give back to my community and help those who may need it.

2) I want to run the Prairie Fire half marathon in October. It's only 13.1 miles... HaHaHa! I ran my first race this year, an 8K and really enjoyed it. Well maybe not at the time but I was beyond happy that I did it afterwards. I have 10 months until the race and I know that I will be able to do it.

3) I want to maintain a B average in my grad school classes. In the program you are allowed one C, if you get two you are out. This might be the most difficult of the things I want to accomplish thanks to classes in accounting, finance and economics, all classes that I really struggled with in my undergrad. Luckily I have people around me who, for some reason, enjoy these classes and are willing to help me!

So goodbye 2012, thank you for being such an amazing year! Here's to you 2013, you have some big shoes to fill but I can't wait to see what you have in store for me!!!